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Chapter Text

Dean has kicked down enough doors that he can immediately identify its thump and rattle even while he's in the middle of a deep dreamless sleep. It's not as loud as it would be if he were the one doing the kicking, but the unmistakable sound of wood splitting and the remains of his front door slamming to the ground quickly puts him on high alert. He tears off his blanket and springs into the air before his eyes have time to adjust. In the dark he reaches for his bedroom door, but it's stuck. He pulls and yanks the unbudging knob as hard as he can while he hears his kid brother's terror filled yell from two rooms over.

“SAMMY!” He yells back into the night.

The young omega's replying cry is muffled as loud thumping footsteps shuffle through the hallway. Dean hears a few adult voices join the commotion as Sam thrashes against his assailants, landing a few hits to a chin and an arm as the invaders carry him downstairs and outside.

Dean urgently shoulders the barrier a few times, but the added pressure only causes the door to bulge slightly.  

“LET HIM GO!” He shouts. He backs up and kicks the wood hard with the heel of his bare foot when it finally opens. He billows out, stumbling through the hallway and down the stairs. Sammy's struggle is evident when he sees a flipped table, chair and broken dishes scattered to the floor. Dean sprints past all of it, stepping over the shattered remains of their front door and into the night.  

Here he catches his first glimpse of the intruders. They are three tall figures draped in pristine white cloaks with pale blue detailing. Their faces are obscured but, by looking at their tall and broad shoulders Dean can tell they're all alphas.

The three run past a wooden fence that marks the line of a protection spell surrounding Dean's house, then speed towards their pristinely white get-away horses at the edge of the property. 

Two of the hooded figures hoist gagged and hogtied 14 year old Sam into the lap of the third rider. Dean briefly sees Sammy's eyes full of panic as the captor on the ground slaps the mare’s ass and it takes off.

As the horse speeds away Dean pumps his legs faster trying to close the distance. When he's almost at the wooden fence he spots a rock larger than both hands put together laying amongst the gravel in a flower bed. He scoops down and palms it knowing it'll make a decent projectile. 

He picks a target, pauses for accuracy, then winds back and hurls the rock directly at the skull of the rider on the right. He watches the trajectory of the rock rise then fall and Dean knows it will hit his target dead center between the shoulders.

But as the rock descends, inches from his face, the cloaked figure catches it with one extended arm like it weighs nothing.

Dean's eyes widened, that rock was easily 7 or 8 lbs and it should be impossible to catch with such ease. Dean sees the intruder's face, his sharp nose, and defined chin. He smirks and in a flash he crushes the rock in his palm and small bits of dust explodes onto the ground.

The sight only slows down Dean for a second and quickly he increases his pace trying to reach the kidnappers.  

Almost to the property line the remaining two intruders raise both arms and their eyes start to glow an incandescent light. Somewhere between blue and white shines where pupils should be. The two shout a spell in a language Dean has never heard and in an instant there is a flash.

Dean doesn't let this astounding sight slow him. Running fast, legs pumping, breathing hard until he crashes head first into something. The momentum squished his face and body into an invisible barrier. He pushes himself back and rushes forward again only to be stopped by the same unseen obstacle. Experimentally, he bangs on the barrier with a closed fist and each time he makes contact with the wall it pulsates a purple haze.  

Dean examines the barrier and it appears to stretch around as a dome covering his house and stable behind him. The alpha turns his head back as the two figures mount their horses and with one final smirk over their shoulder they ride off.

Dean continues to shout and bang on the wall until they have disappeared over the horizon. Once completely out of sight he curses into the night sky while his mind races trying to process what just occurred.

He looks down and sees the edges of the barrier have retracted. He waits another minute and tests the barrier again to find it shrunk about half a foot. He looks around at the distance between where he stands to the protective warding that'll break any magical barrier. He guesses he has about an hour until it reaches the spell line.

He races back to his house to dress and to pack what he'll need to track Sammy. He packs all his best axes, knives, daggers and a small bow. The spell that coats his home is unlike any he's ever seen so he loads up on witch killing arrow heads then stuffs John's spell book in a pocket next to his Demon blade that'll kill just about anything. He packs a few silver daggers, a dozenish silver tipped throwing stars, salt grenades and a few other trinkets he could use to counteract the type of magic he witnessed. He also grabs his coin purse and fastens it to a belt and tucks it in his jacket out of sight of any would-be pickpockets. Money is actually his most useful tool as a Night Hunter. It greases palms, gets him into castles, buys spells, and in a few cases even corrupts a disgruntled Familiar who is looking for a new witch.

Lastly, he grabs a full change of clothes for Sammy along with some soothing ointments. Those glowing blue bastards took his brother on the last day of his first heat. When Dean finds the teenager Sam may still feel the discomfort of his cycle and he'll definitely need a refresher.  

With his bags packed he rushes to the stable to get Baby.  

By the time they exit with his trusted mare saddled and ready to go the dome is a yard or two away from the breaking point. Dean approaches and can see the effects of his home ward have weakened the barrier. The once crystal clear wall looks a translucent grayish purple. He unsethes his sword and bangs at the pulsating invisible wall with the pummel. Thankfully, it wobbles with each strike. He hits this a few more times until a purple cracked steak breaks through the wall and extends upwards. With one final push the barrier breaks and a pulse of purple light and a big gust of wind explodes out of the sphere.

But finally he's free, he kicks Baby and she takes off, passing the property line racing as fast as she can gallop down the road.

Following the trail he heads west determined to retrieve his brother.

Chapter Text

Zachariah orders Castiel to one of Heaven's War rooms. This isn't unusual, as captain of his garrison he’s often called to one war room or another to discuss whatever newest threat to paradise. However, this is his first time in this war room. It's so high on the heavenly plane, he thinks this must be where the archangels used to reside, closest to their Father's chambers. Their Father hasn't been seen since before he was sired and only a handful of angels have ever met him. So he's not sure if that's true or if this is just one of those rumors that floats around amongst the other lower angels from time to time.

The location of this meeting is unusual, but more unusual was Zachariah’s request that he come in his human vessel, a sign that whatever task they have in store for him will be on earth. 

He sits on the bench in his, relatively, tiny human form that he hasn't worn in a few decades. He's still getting used to the sensation of being in this body. Though he has far less appendages, heads, limbs and these human eyes can't see all the color spectrums that his true form can, he feels more sensitive in this body. Touch is dull in most places but overly sensitive in others and his puny human appendages get uncomfortably stiff if they remain unused for a few hours. That's how he finds himself flexing his hands and fingers as he is finally called into the war room.

He quickly straightens up and enters to see a council of three angels. Zachariah, who arranged this meeting, Naomi and Uriel. Since Lucifer's fall after he killed Gabriel and Rafiel. The council of three are, together, Michael's right hand and top enforcers. Upon seeing them Castiel knows whatever task they have for him will be a serious one likely demanded by the final archangel himself.  

“Seraph Castiel of Heaven's 9,688th garrison.” Naomi introduces. “You are called here today to participate in an important campaign.”

“No!” Uriell interrupts. “This is the MOST important campaign. The fate of earth, heaven, all angels and the millions of souls that have ever existed are at stake!”

Zachariah clears his throat, not pleased at the interruption. “Uriel, you're getting ahead of yourself.” He gestures to the angle. “Castiel, we need you for Heaven's most important mission.”

Uriel continued. “One of our most sacred prophecies is starting to come into fruition.” He says more calmly.

The white haired angels resume. “The prophecy of the Brothers.” Castiel's eyes widen when it's mentioned. “We didn't anticipate the sacred bloodline would bear fruit in this generation. In his 32 years the alpha Winchester brother has shown he is not….” Naomi searches for words carefully “...what we would consider an ideal vessel, given his history. But, the younger one is a newly presented omega. After many centuries of waiting the first three core seals of the prophecy are broken and our brothers, Michael and Lucifer, finally have their destined vessels.”

Castiel nods, understanding. “So do you want me and my garrison to guard the young Winchester to ensure Lucifer or his followers can't get to him?”

Naomi, Uriel and Zacharia look at each other.

“No” the most senior angel says. “We already have the child in custody. We grabbed him the second after he finished his first heat.”

Castiel's face alters. “Oh… I will act as additional security to your existing forces. Or would you like me to plan an assault on the known demon's strongholds that could know about the boy's designation?”

Zachariah smirks. “No. We are going in a different direction. We decided to jump start the conditioning for Michael's vessel.”

“Condition?” Castiel asks.

Naomi steps in saying “Like we said. Alpha Winchester is an unlikely candidate. He's a Night Hunter, killing monsters and witches for a fee. And there was that nasty business involving his half brother's death. That's hardly like the honorable Knights that Michael needs to inhabit. We need you to make him a righteous man, worthy of housing Archangel Michael.”

“Specifically…” Uriel interrupts, “We need him to break all 200 seals of the Righteous man AND the remaining 3 core seals as timely as possible.” 

“I know this sounds drastic. The seals of the Righteous Man are only required after some truly heinous act. Only five or six humans have completed it since creation. But we didn't anticipate it would take this long for the first core seals to break. If we pass on this chance it may be another thousand years before the bloodlines come together again. Who knows what other atrocities humans could come up with in that time. That's why we need you Castiel” Naomi resumes. “You will arrange and make sure Alpha Winchester is on the path to break those seals.”

“And once Alpha Winchester has transformed into a righteous vessel for Michael we will give the omega child to…” 

“Quiet!” Zachariah barks to Uriel. “Every angel in Heaven doesn't need to know the full plan.”

Castiel thinks about the plan for a second. From what the prophecy says Michael taking his vessel is as equally destructive as Lucifer taking his. The power they yield separately could move oceans, topple mountains and start a fire across the planet. But together… it would mean the complete destruction of the globe. And in an instant Earth, God's proudest creation, would be wiped out.

But he looks to his superiors and all three have Michael's ear. Thanks to Lucifer, he's their last connection to their Father after he left. Michael is their Father's representative until he returns. This plan was approved by Michael and therefore approved by God.  

Ultimately he is not one to argue. He was designed by his Father to be a soldier and follow orders and that is exactly what he's going to do.

Chapter Text

The riders left a mud trail that was initially clear enough that Dean could count the individual nails in the horseshoes. With a crystal clear trail and with Baby galloping at her top speed Dean thought he would close the gap and catch them within one or two hours. But as he rode on and the dark of the night gave way to the summer morning the trail faded. Three sets of hoofs turned into two and a half, then two, then one and a half. By day break he could make out the stride of just two hoofs and he wasn't even convinced they belonged to the same horse.

He was about a dozen or so miles from his house on the outskirts of his village when the trail dried up completely. Luckily the trail cut off just outside Charlie's tavern.

He jumped off Baby fast and marched straight to the entry.  

“Charlie!” He yells banging on the door.

“If you want a round of ale I'm afraid you're gonna have to wait till we're open…oh it's you.” Charlie deflates seeing her long time friend and not the local wino itching for their AM fix.

“Have you seen three horsemen racing by?”

He says forgoing a greeting.

“Uh, no we haven't even opened yet.”

“Have you seen Sammy?”

She shakes her head no and Dean quickly tells him about last night's break in. The redhead's face droops when hearing the kid brother of her best friend that she's known since he was a baby was kidnapped.

“OH GODS! Who took him? Were they Human or other?”

“I've got no clue. They must be, at least, witches since they used some serious magic trapping me at home for an hour.” Dean shakes his head and tries not to let his thoughts go to a dark place. “I gotta find him.”

“We’ll find him.” She says rushing back inside and dumping thecontents of a bag on the floor that she starts to refill with supplies she'll need to join his search party.

“Find who?” Her mate, Dorothy, asks rounding a corner. More like wobbling around the corner. Her belly bump has grown in the few weeks since Dean has last seen her.

“Sammy was taken last night.” Dorothy's face is in shock. “Three men on white horses speed off into the night with Sammy.”

“Were they alphas?” She asks waddling in to take a seat on a stool.  

Dean perks up. “YES! Three alphas. I didn't get a close up with their faces but one was tall and had a sharp nose.”

Dorothy nods. “They have on blue and white cloaks?”

Dean jumps to her “Yes! You see them?”

“Yeah I was tending the chickens early this morning and riders with hoods raced past headed that way.” She finishes thumbing back to the north road.

Dean jumps to his feet as Charlie says “Go! I'll saddle up Scar-Jo and catch up.”

“No!” He halts holding up a hand. “Your mate is about to pop. You're needed here more.”

Charlie starts to protest but ultimately agrees, she needs to be here to support Dorothy for the birth and through her nesting.

Dean quickly asks his friend to look after his house and feed his other horses while he's away and then takes off north.

He doesn't see a trail as he rides but the north road is a fairly desolate one with few other roads that cross its path. After a few hours of trotting without any signs of the captors or Sammy he comes to a fork in the road. He descends his horse and inspects the roads for some sign, any sign, that would tell him which path the kidnappers took. The road leading east has a few old boot prints, evidence of a deer passing and groves from the carriage that cast a thick scar in the mud. But all of these are all old trails that passed through this part of the road at least three days ago. No sign of the riders.

The road to the west is dry and dusty with cracked mud and nearly undisturbed crumbling pebbles. A few feet past the fork there's a divot, smaller than a fist, that goes two inches into the earth. Dean inspects and sees the mud underneath is still wet and fresh. Dean walks a few paces further and sees a second, then third divot.

The corner of his mouth turns up for the first time in a least 15 miles seeing a newer sign of Sammy. Quickly he jogs back to his horse and mounts Baby.

He clicks his spurs and she starts to gallop west neighing while she gains speed. Just as she strides a few feet past the fork a black cat with a shiny coat and huge blue eyes jump in front and hisses loudly, shocking both Dean and Baby. Frightened, the mare kicks up on her hind feet, nearly throwing Dean off. She stumbles backward, kicking up dirt and dust in her way. Dean tries as he might to control her and get her back on the right path but it's fruitless. As soon as her feet hit the ground she about faces and sprints down the east path.  

The angel departed his dark feline vessel after making sure the alpha Winchester and his horse were confidently headed east.

After slipping back into his trusted human vessel's body he feels confident. He has left just enough bread crumbs to keep Dean on his trail, but not enough to ever aphrened his fellow angels. No, that can never happen. Alpha Winchester has seals to break and it's Castiel’s job is to make sure he does.

Chapter Text

Baby is a strong old girl. Passed down from John to Dean both consider the Friesian more than just an animal. She's family who was trusted time and time again when John and later Dean needed reliable transport.

She never spooked when spirits caused a sudden temperature drop, she never flinched when crusty mole-faced witches conjured up all kinds of nastiness. And she never gave a second look to any of the vamps, werewolves or the thousand other monsters that have crossed her path.

But that cat… that deep black cat that came out of nowhere hissing and flashing its fangs was apparently too much for the old girl. She took off in the opposite direction and despite every calming tactic Dean knew he couldn't get her to slow. All he could do was hold on for his dear life while she galloped east.

It was close to dusk by the time she slowed her pace near a babbling creek that fed into a lake. Once she spotted a running stream she meandered over and started taking big gulps of the natural spring water.

Dean dismounted as soon as she came to a stop and ran his hands through her mane while she drank. “Feeling better?” He pets her then goes through his saddle bag for his canteen. He walks up the creek and dips his bottle in the water to refill.

“You wanna tell me why Salem back there got you spooked?” Baby bucks her head splashing her owner with stream water then resumes her drink.

Knowing he's not going to get an answer Dean checks the sky and sees it's getting late. As much as he would prefer to get back on the road he decides to set up camp, he doesn't know how long this journey will be and years of survival and night hunter training have taught him it's best to conserve energy when you can. The last thing he needs is to get burnt out after riding himself and Baby too hard. 

After he gets Baby's saddle off and brushes her, he sets up a modest camp and searches the forest floor for fuel to start a fire. While gathering dried sticks and twigs he hears an echoing in the far distance.

“DAD!”

“DAD!”

Cascading voices billow in the night and grow louder.

A rustle of leaves behind him forces him to turn. Emerging from the brush is an omega holding a lantern in one hand and a small boy's hand in another.

“Oh!” Startled, she yelps a little. “Sorry sir.” Quickly apologize a little frazzled. “H-Have you seen an alpha wandering around? He's about yay high, in his 50's, bald. ..”

“No, sorry I'm just passing by.” He says and resumes gathering twigs.

“Can-Can you help me? My father went missing this morning after joining a search party with other alphas in the village.”

“Search party?” Dean asks.

“Yes. The baker's son, the priest's omega, a sheriff's deputy and a few others have gone missing near the lake recently. We all fear they were sucked under by a current or something. My father was a part of a search party checking the edges of the lake. The search was called off a few hours ago but… he hasn't come home.” She looks down to the kid.

Dean huffs. “Well I hope you find him.” He says a little curt and turns to make his way back to camp.

“WAIT!” The young woman pleads. “My son and I are the only ones out here looking for him. Could you help us?”

Dean grunts a little. The plan is to get a solid 4 hours of sleep under the stars then hit the road and catch up to Sam's trail before first light. He doesn't need to get sidetracked to help find someone's dad that wandered off from the group who knows how many hours ago.

“Please?” She pleads when she sees the strange alpha mull over his response.

Dean looks down to the kid who looks more worried and exhausted than any kid his age has a right to be. He thinks of his brother and what he said on a hunt a few weeks back. Even though they take a considerable amount of coin to expel spirits and kill monsters, it's not the job. Helping and saving people is their job.

“Okay.” He finally said “Where was the last place anyone saw him?”

The omega lets out a relieved breath and leads the young alpha to the last place he was seen.

As they walk over Dean formally introduces himself and finds out his new acomplices are Andrea and her son Lucas. Dean attempts to make some small talk with the boy to put his mind at ease when Andrea interrupts “Lucas here doesn't speak much. Or at all really. Ever since his father and my Alpha died he hasn't said a word.” Dean understands Sammy was pretty shaken up for a while after John died. He hopes the kid takes as long as he needs to heal from his loss.

“So when did the others go missing?” Dean asks, examining the shore's unusually frosted covered pebbles. He could have sworn the last frost of the year passed two weeks ago.

“Baker's son vanished Thursdays and the priest's omega was last seen theThursdays before that and before that the sheriff's deputy disappeared-”

“Let me guess, the Thursday before that?” Dean finishes.

“Can you tell me were they all friends or anything?”

“Not that I know of. Although… The baker's son and the priest's omega were both recovering from some burns from a recent fire in town square. And the deputy was in a cast from stopping some bandits when he went missing.”

Dean hums peculiarly.

“Does your dad have any injury?”

“Not really, although he did sprain his ankle this morning. But he was able to walk it off pretty quickly.”

“So all the victims were recovering from injuries and all went missing on Thursdays.” Dean glances to the sky and notes the moon's position. It looks like we have another hour or two before it's midnight and officially Thursday. 

Dean picks up his pace scanning the edges of the lake. As he walks on the temperature drops and he sees his breath with every exhale.  

He sees a splash and hears a gargled noise. He turns his head just in time to see a pair of arms thrash in the lake and a translucent gray figure pull the man under water.

“OH GOD! DAD!” Andrea shouts letting go of Lucas' hand to wade in the water.

“No! Get back.” Dean shouts and pulls her by her arm back on the shore.

“That's a spirit in there.” He points a finger at the omega who has started sobbing while her father is dragged into the middle of the water.

“Stay here, I have salt and some kerosene at camp.”

He pulls Lucas over to his mothers side telling him. “You and your mom CANNOT go in there. No matter what you hear. Got it.”

Nervous, the boy nods and after telling Andrea not to move an inch he sprints back to camp.

The boy and his mom stay put at first but they hear splashing from shore line further back. They turn to see Andreas' father and he looks to be free of the spirit but struggling to swim ashore. Andrea runs to her dad and helps him onto the rocky beach. She's soaked and covered in wet sand while her father's sprained ankle is bloody and he coughs up lake water.

Before the old alpha is completely on land Andrea hears a loud splash and looks up just in time to see her son fight against the spirit as he’s pulled under the waves.

“NO!NO!” She screams for her son just as Dean re-appears with a bag of salt, a tin of kerosene and a torch.

Seeing the small boy get pulled under, Dean drops his items and dives into the water. He paddles his arms and legs with all his strength until he reaches the boy a few feet under the surface. Thankfully the spirit’s grip is weak and he easily unhands the kid and swims him to the surface and onto the shore.

They're greeted by Andrea as both cough and lurch onto the sand.

Once Dean is recovered and on a few shaky steps he shuffled back to his spirit supplies abandoned on the beach. He dumps a duffle of salt into the lake, throws a rosary beads and a cross as far as he can into the center and sprays kerosene on the surface of the water. With the torch in hand he says a few latin chants and sets the lake alight.

The flames spread across the surface and the spirit pushes against the fier barrier screaming and wailing as the water's surface turns fiery orange. Once the entire area is covered with flame the spirit lets out a final high pitched scream before it explodes into a cloud of light and a single powerful gust of wind extinguishes the fire completely. 

The spirit is dead.

Dean walks back up to the shore and briefly considers asking the small family or their town for coins. As a Night Hunter he would normally demand 1 gold coin, 5 silver coins or 15 copper pieces for taking out a spirit, which is a competitive rate for his industry. But as he approaches Andrea she is hugging her son while her father limps over to embrace the two. Dean declines to bring up his bill. For now, seeing this family reunited is enough.

Chapter Text

Initially Castiel is satisfied with how well he's able to guide the alpha to break the seals of the Righteousness Man.

He'll admit he got off to a rocky stop when his target traversed down the wrong path at that fork in the road. But luckily after some quick thinking and a quicker change into his cat vessel he startled the alpha’s horse enough to about-face and speed towards the next seal at the Lake.

Saving an endeeble from a spirit. Seal broken. Check.

That ordeal went faster than the angel anticipated and a few hours after the alpha reached the lake and rescued the child he was back on the road headed east.  

The angel's job now was to leave just enough bread crumbs to keep the alpha on the right path while breaking as many seals as possible without being noticed.  

Sometimes the angel would leave physical trails in his path. A scrap of cloth the same color as the kidnapper's cloak conveniently strewn on a thorny branch. Rather than risk tearing the fabric and scraping his fingers, Dean snipped the entire branch and kept it in his saddle bag.  

Pluck the flower of a hawthorn tree on the sabbath. Seal broken. Check.  

Sometimes Castiel would create false tracks by making deep imprints in fresh mud near a stone river crossing.  

Cross a troll-less bridge on the new moon. Seal broken. Check.  

All-in-all, Castiel's tactics have managed to steer Dean towards a dozen other seal breaking detours. Including taking the fangs of a baby vamp when he “accidentally” stumbled across a nest. When he burned the bones of an excommunicated priest turned vengeful spirit that terrorized his former conjugation. And when he incinerated a Wendigo that had been eating its way through a convent. 

Check, check and check!

If not for pride, Castiel would pat himself on his many backs for being able to get the alpha Winchester to break so many seals in a short time, utterly undetected.

But his pride waned on his 4th week on the road when the alpha didn't take the bait and stopped following his bread crumbs. This time he had to find a more direct way to get him to follow Castiel's lead.

That's how he found himself in his human vessel spreading rumors of the three captives by word of mouth in villages the alpha would pass by.

When Dean's horse was in need of new shoes or when he needed a refresh of supplies Castiel would slip into his human form, acquire some clothes, and start spreading rumors.  

He whispered to a blacksmith that three alphas and a young omega passed by. He spread word through the market that a few cloaked figures were in a forest just outside of the village. He spread rumors in the local school yard that three white stallions raced through town square at dawn.  

Gossip spreads quickly in these small villages and the alpha Winchester routinely overhears local talk about unusual magic spotted in the next town over, or that a tall young omega was giving his three escorts hell while heading north.

This plan is always successful and Castiel is usually pretty good about his timing. He spreads information and is usually in-and-out of town a full day before the alpha shows up.

Today he's at an inn masquerading as a barmaid dropping off drinks to the other travelers. He's talking loudly to the innkeeper about three riders and an omega that inhaled 3 full chickens, 7 potatoes and 3 pictures of ale before they headed north. He used just a touch of his grace to encourage the innkeeper to go along with the story and accept him as a well trusted employee instead of a stranger that walked in off the street a few minutes ago.

“They must've been part giant to eat all of that. Did they at least tip well?”

“Oh yes, they reached into their beautiful blue cloaks and tipped me 3 silver coins.” He lies loudly enough to be heard from the entry a few yards away. He scans the table filled space to make sure all the patrons heard the brag and there sitting at the bar, is the alpha staring at him.

The sides of his mouth went up in a smirk and he winked at him. Cas quickly feels blood rushing to his cheeks, his stomach dip and his head heats up as the alpha holds his gaze. The general buzz and background noise from heaven that he always hears, dulls as he focuses in on the alpha's memorizing forest eyes. They are stunning and demand intense concentration. The eye contact was only broken when the barkeep dropped a drink in front of Dean who then reached in his coin purse and slipped him a copper piece. 

Castiel takes the opportunity to make a dash for it and scoots out the back. Once outside the background noise of heaven resumes and he decides to force more of his grace to the surface of his vessel to mute the change in his body, but it doesn't seem to be working. That briefest amount of eye contact was enough to make his pupils dilate, his breath hitch and his body feels warm all over. He pushes through a stronger wave than what should be needed and briefly his eyes glow angelic blue.

That seemed to do the trick because as soon as his eyes dim he’s back to normal.

Dean is glad he decided to visit the inn while Baby was getting fit for a new horseshoe. The inn has quality ale and the views aren't bad at all. He makes a note of the location of the bar in his journal, hoping he'll remember to stop back here on his return if he gets Sammy back.

No.

WHEN he gets Sammy back. He will get his brother back. It's taken much longer than he'd expected but he always seems to be just a day or two behind those three assholes who kidnapped him.  

He sighs at the bar and throws his drink back in one gulp and makes a promise to bring the kid back to this place on their way home. Sammy can enjoy some of the rabbit food he sees being dropped off at the other tables, and Dean will enjoy the pieces of eye candy that's strolling around. Well maybe just a single piece of eye candy.

That one bar maid with the messy hair, sapphire eyes and the ill fitting clothes was really doing it for him. If he were here working a normal case he'd strut over to him to help fix his haphazardly tied apron and then he'd see where the night would lead him. But now he's so exhausted. He thinks if, by some miracle, he's successful in talking blue eyes into bed he would crash immediately and sleep 15 hours straight.

He's beyond exhausted searching for Sammy. It would be one thing if it was a straight shot to follow the trail of his captors, but he keeps getting side tracked.

Every time he stops for a moment or restocks supplies there's a case. There always seems to be a spirit or a monster plaguing each village he passes.

Dean wonders what his father would think about this. Dean imagines he would be more upset about doing all of this work pro-bono than losing his brother. He feels a loss, those two dozenish cases he's worked could have kept food on his table for a few weeks, but Dean would have felt worse if he took their coin. None of those people sought out his Night Hunter services and he never advertises that killing monsters is his profession before he started helping. So far no one offers reimbursement and Dean doesn't collect. It's probably for the best anyway, he doesn't have time to haggle with Sammy still missing.

Speaking of, he'd better hit the road. The blacksmith is probably finished by now and sexy blue eyes don't look like he's returning from out back.  

He journeys on for weeks more following their trail and stumbling upon a case after case, and unbeknownst to Dean, Castiel trails along in his cat vessel. He has a better time keeping an eye on him while in that form. Humans usually don't take a second glance at a stray cat. 

At first, he followed the alpha a few hundred yards behind but one afternoon he slowly caught up and found himself trotting beside the black horse.  

“I know a cousin of yours.” Dean glances down to the black cat. Castiel stuns a little not expecting Dean to talk to him. “They scared my Baby a few villages back and had her high tailing it for a couple of miles. Next time you see them, tell me that it was not nice.”

Castiel meowed at Dean and scampered ahead. He needs to beat the alpha to the town ahead to plant information. He switches to his human vessel, snatches some clothes and starts spreading rumors about the three cloaked figures at the village square. Just as he finished spreading gossip, Dean appeared over the horizon and strolls into town. Castiel quickly changed back into cat form and eventually makes his way back to Dean's side.

The alpha welcomed back his feline friend as he rode through town. Dean left quickly when he heard a rumor three figures were headed down the east road, Castiel followed.

Thus the pattern went for days. Cat Castiel would trail Dean and Baby, separating only to plant information. Change came towards the end of a chilly night while Dean set up a campfire when the alpha threw the cat some of his rations. It wasn't much, just a small bit of dried fish.

Cat Castiel sniffed it and looked at the alpha.

“Not a fan of fish?” Dean asks and waits for an answer.

“Me either, but dried fish keeps the best while on the road.” That night he takes a spare blanket and arranges it into a little pile.

“For you.” He points to the cat then gets into his own sleep roll.

Castiel doesn't need to eat or sleep so both the gifts are a little pointless. But… He's never been on the receiving end of a gift in his millenia of existence.  

He starts purring, a low and deep rumble from his core looking between the blanket, the fish and the alpha. He considers pushing through a surge of his grace to stop it but declines. He doesn't want the vibrations to stop, he finds it enjoyable.

The following morning cat Castiel went missing. No surprise for Dean as he rises and makes his way into the village, but the cat re-appears on his way out. Trotting diligently by his side.

“You want a ride?” He asks when Baby is down to a slow walk. Before Cat Castiel can react, Dean dismounts and scoops the cat under his arm. He remounts fast and places the cat center on his lap.

For the rest of the trail Dean lets his fingers scratch the top of its head content for the companionship he has formed. This pattern goes on for a few days. Castiel sits in comfort in the alpha’s lap, soaking up the sun and indulging the occasional head scratches. Then a few miles from town he dismounts and runs forward to transform back into his human vessel to spread rumors. 

In the latest village after spreading the rumors to a passing sheppard, a milkman and the baker he spots Dean out of the corner of his eye. Quickly he ducks into the post office before he’s seen. Once the alpha passes by Castiel waits a few minutes then cautiously exits and looks around to make sure Dean is on his way out of town, having successfully taken the bait.

He searches down the road and in between a few buildings finding nothing. The alpha is nowhere to be seen. He increases his pace as he walks down the road out of town and toward the forest. Dean is still nowhere in sight and worse he doesn't even see his horse’s prints in the dirt.  

He stops and looks in all directions hoping, praying he'll see some sign of him. Before he can complete his 360 search a hand is covering his mouth, and another other hand pulls him back by the waist into the forest.  

Dean slams Castiel against a pine tree and he has a knife pressed to his throat.

“YOU'RE FOLLOWING ME!”

Chapter Text

The first time Dean thought he saw that dark haired hottie from the tavern he brushed it off. There are alot of omegas in the kingdom with black hair and sapphire eyes and there's virtually no chance the barmaid from five villages back somehow sprinted ahead of him to gossip in the town square.  

The second time he convinced himself he didn't see the same omega half naked stealing clothes strung between an alleyway. That's just too absurd and it was probably another extremely similar looking omega who'd fallen on hard times and had to pinch someone's pants.  

He ran out of excuses the third time he spotted him opening a door at the local bakery and speaking in hushed tones with the constable. Same sharp jaw, same messy hair and same hypnotizing eyes.

Alright, that did it. Coincidences don't happen three times in a row. He has a tail.

He decided he would make a slight detour as he passed through the next village. After his stray cat friend hopped off Baby and scampered away just before he reached the next village,Dean ducked into the woods and went all the way around the three blocks of town to get to the road on the other side. If his suspicions are correct blue-eyes would be leaving just as Dean should've entered the town to ask questions about his assailants.

After 45 minutes of hiding behind a hay bale he watches the omega hastily walk out of town looking in all directions.

Bingo.

When the omega has his back turned Dean quickly rushes him. He grabs the mystery omega with one hand and covers his mouth with the other then drags him back into the woods.

“Are you following me?” He growls throwing the omega against a tree and pressing a dagger into his neck. Not hard enough to draw blood but just hard enough to let the stranger know he means business.

“I-uh…” Dean presses the knife in a little more as the omega stutters through a response. This close Dean should be able to scent fear or shock on him, but surprisingly, his emotions don't register and Dean can hardly scent his second gender. 

Strange.

“You better start talkn’! ” He barks.

“I… I wasn't following you.”

“Bullshit! I've seen you at least half a dozen times since that tavern 300 miles back! That was over a month ago. So I'll ask again, why are you following me?”

Dean and his knife are pressed directly into Castiel's vessel. This is a very clear human threat of violence, but the angel is not afraid. This tiny human weapon could never hurt him, but his vessel is… reacting. He has goosebumps all over, he feels the stagnant air in his lungs involuntarily expel and his muscles go lax.

He doesn't understand it, while in his cat form he can stay curled up against Dean for hours at a time with no issue or reaction, besides (of course) thoroughly enjoying the head and ear scratches the alpha would absentmindedly give him. But his human vessel can barely focus on his surroundings.

The alpha is talking to him, likely about his identity, but Cas can't pay attention to his words. He only wants to focus on the alpha’s body flush with his, the arms keeping him in place and his scent. Deep rich, a little burnt with aggression but utterly intoxicating.

A quick shove backs knocks him out of this trance.

“You better start talking!”

Oh right, he's been caught while on a mission. Focus Castiel FOCUS!

He pushes a strong wave of grace through his body to neutralize whatever effect the alpha has on him. Once his senses are dulled and the pressure of Dean's body on his is less… distracting he quickly thinks of an excuse.

“Well… I wasn't following you, per se, I was... um…”

“Out with it omega!” Dean cuts off impatiently.

“I- I overheard you were looking for three riders.”

Dean tightens his grip on his lose tunic. “You have anything to do with them?” Anger seeps through his tone.

“No, no! Of course not. They also took my daughter.”

Dean examines the omega up and down, not losing his grip on him. “Your daughter? When?!”

“Last mon-” he sees Dean's eyes come together, one month may not be enough time “Last year!” He corrects “Three riders took my daughter last year. They came during the night , broke into our house and rode off. I've been looking for her ever since.”

Dean eyes the omega then takes another step closer and subtly he tries to scent dark hair. Usually, something in their scent will give away a lie if they are telling one. Their scent turns ripe and acidic like moldy fruit. But Dean inhales and gets nothing. Like nothing nothing and the omega's scent is actually more muted than when he first picked him up.

He's either a master fibber or he's telling the truth. Dean quickly pushes back and digs out a small silver switchblade from his boot. He puts the new blade onto the omega's exposed forearm. After seeing no reaction he takes his flask of holy salt water and splashes it into the omega's face. 

The omega flinches but otherwise his skin doesn't sizzle nor does he violently jerk away like he would if he were not human.

Supernatural tests pass, he drops the grip on the omega's collar and takes a step back.

“What's her name?” He asks, looking for a quick answer.

“Claire” Cas responds with the name of his vessles's daughter and volunteers additional facts. “She would be 14 now, blonde hair, brown eyes…”

Castiel thanks his memory for the crystal clear image he has of her during the years he and Jimmy cohabitated the vessel.

“I heard you talk to a blacksmith about the cloaked alpha's that took your brother. That sounded too similar to people that took Claire so I followed you.”

Dean stepped back, dropping his weapons all together.

“Oh.” He says looking at him one more time. His lack of scent is strange, his attire is definitely unusual, but he can't smell if he is lying and the omega has passed all his tests confirming he is human. 

“Uh sorry about…” Dean holds up his flask about to apologize for splashing him, then realizes he should probably tack on an apology for putting a knife to his throat and grabbing him in the first place. “Sorry about all of that.” He says instead. “You should've said something earlier instead of trailing me.”

He puts his weapons back into his boot and steps back allowing the omega some likely needed space. The alpha thought he heard a whimper when he stepped away but looked up to the omega who was nervously checking himself over.

Dean is suddenly guilty, he made a vulnerable omega uncomfortable and probably got way too close into their personal space.

He makes a small commitment to keep alot of physical distance from him then clears his throat to dislodged some social awkwardness.

“So what's your name?”

“Uh, w-what…?” Castiel is pushing more of his grace through his vessel that he missed the alpha's question.  

“Your name? I'm Dean and you are?”

“I'm Castiel.”

Chapter Text

Initially, Castiel doesn't think Dean heard his name.  

The alpha froze, literally. He didn't react or move an inch, his skin didn't twitch as a sharp breeze blew through and his eyes didn't focus on the undercover angel as he looked at him with a curious glance.  

Castiel takes one investigatory step closer to Dean and is immediately transported to heaven.

“Castiel!” An ordering voice booms, causing the angel to swiftly turn around to see Zachariah, Naomi and Uriel high on their pedestals looking down at him with stern faces. Behind them, leaning against a wall is Anael in her latest vessel, an attractive beta woman in her late 20's with good teeth and deep red hair the color of dark clay.

“Not even three months in and he's already blown his cover.” She says looking up to the senior angels while avoiding eye contact with Castiel. “I told you it was a bad idea to send him.”

Anael, who was once a fairly low apprentice of a middle ranking seraph, somehow managed to catch Michael's eye a few millennia ago. Since then the archangel has considered her to be one of his fiercest and closest companions. Michael only delegates his most important and personal tasks to her.   

“My cover isn't blown. He believes I'm a human searching for a daughter that was also taken by the same alphas that took his brother. We can use this.” Castiel says.

“Your order was to stay unseen and be the guiding hand that leads the Alpha Winchester to break his seals.” Uriel says.

“That's right. You're supposed to be UNSEEN.” Anael glares at Castiel repeating the most important aspect of his mission. “But the bigger problem here is that Castiel's methods are slow. Alpha Winchester should have broken more seals by now.”

“I agree.” Naomi says. “I was hoping we would be closer to the halfway mark. Remind me, what's the current count?” She glances over to Zachaira who unfurls a scroll.

“Seventy seven.” A few dozen seals short. “And not a single one was a core seal.”

“Respectfully, I'm not that far behind. If you send me back now I can ensure he'll break at least three more by sunset.” Castiel deflects.

Anael just rolls her eyes and turns to the three “We should scrap this plan now before Castiel's failures truly spiral out of control.” She shoots back a glare to the seraph. “Send me instead. I can get the rest of the seals broken within a fortnight and the core seals immediately after.”

“Now, as much as I agree that the seraph is putting this mission in jeopardy by revealing himself and that he’s dragging his feet...” Zachariah glares at Castiel “...you know as well as I do that we have our marching orders. This plan was devised by Michael himself. We will not deviate after this small and temporary…” He turns a demanding threatening eye to Castiel. “...setback.”  

Aneal stares daggers at the council and then to Castiel. She growls and mumbles something unintelligible to their current human ears.

“Castiel, you are one of heaven's most seasoned lieutenants with millennia of experience dating back to the fall. And while making your identity known, at least partially, to the Alpha Winchester was not a part of our initial plan, we have faith that you’ll use this to your advantage.” Naomi says, trying to appease Michael’s right hand angel.

“Our expectations are high.” She continues. “You need to do everything in your power to get the Alpha Winchester to break more seals fast!”

“I disagree.” Surprisingly, Zachariah says.

“This is not an expectation. This is demand. You WILL get the alpha to break the seals and you WILL pick up the pace.”

Castiel silently nods feeling the full weight of the threat. “I understand.”

“Good.” Zacharia finishes and turns to Aneal still in a disagreement shaking her head.

“We all need to remember what's at stake. Raphael and Gabriel deserve to be avenged and no one wants to live under the yoke of Lucifer's boot for the rest of eternity. The goal is to get our brother into his true vessel so he can defeat him once and for all.”

“Yes, of course.” Cas replies. These are his orders and if there's one thing his father instilled in him, it's to follow orders at all times. 

“We're sending you back. The next time we see you we expect all of the seals to be broken.”

Zachaira raises his hand and Castiel is immediately transported back to earth.

He internally refreshes his objectives. Get Dean to break the seals, fast.

“Hello?” Dean's waving hand signals the end of his trance and snaps Castiel out of his thoughts. “Your name? You got one?”

“Uhhh, oh. Yes. It's Castiel.”